


five years: where we left off

by jakepuhralta



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-09 08:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11101074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jakepuhralta/pseuds/jakepuhralta
Summary: After being framed for a bank robbery by a dirty cop, Jake Peralta is released from prison after five years and reunites with girlfriend Amy Santiago. This is the aftermath.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first REAL attempt at writing Brooklyn Nine-Nine fanfiction. If you have any criticisms, please tell me! If you disliked my fic and have a reason, let me know! I'm not going to take it personally because not everyone is going to have the same opinions, and I would really like to know readers' preferences on this story and my future ones.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake Peralta struggles with accepting his future after being released from prison, amid major revelations.

Jake Peralta wakes up to the sound of his cell being opened, and a gruff correctional officer's voice saying, "Get your ass outta bed, Peralta."

He blinks a few times, rubs the sleep from his eyes. Oh right. Today was the day he was being released from prison.

The correctional officer, Dave, a stout dark-skinned man with a thick moustache that reminded Jake of Neil Degrasse-Tyson, looks down at him from the side of his bed, stern but not unkind, waiting for him to get up. "Freedom day, remember?"

Jake, a former detective for the NYPD's 99th precinct in Brooklyn, was framed for robbing a bank, along with his colleague and good friend Rosa Diaz. He and Rosa had known each other since their academy days, they both dreamed of working for Lieutenant Melanie Hawkins and they both got the chance. After he and Rosa successfully apprehended a drug dealer, Jake found out that Hawkins was a dirty cop, and that she was the leader of the Golden Gang bank robbers. A plan to take down Hawkins and her squad by pretending to be dirty cops like her and assisting her with a bank robbery backfired, and he and Rosa were framed for the robbery.

The day they were found guilty was probably the worst day of Jake's life.

He and Amy driving out to Pennsylvania and bringing back Matthew Langdon. Enya on blast all the way back to New York. Rosa's stupid pink courtroom clothes. Charles' white hair. The jury forewoman declaring them guilty. It was all a blur now.

He did remember the blood rushing through his head once he heard those words. "Guilty. On all charges." He barely even noticed that Rosa, who was standing next to him, felt her knees weaken, and plopped back down to her chair. 

At first, he didn't lose hope. Handcuffs were put on his wrists, Amy rushed to him and tried to hug him, but the bailiff stopped her. He passed by the rest of them: Gina Linetti, his childhood friend and the precinct's civilian administrator, his best friend Charles Boyle, Sergeant Terry Jeffords, Mike Scully and Norm Hitchcock, and Captain Raymond Holt, who was never good at expressing his emotions but the look of disappointment and defeat was written all over his face. 

"We will get the two of you out," Captain Holt whispered earnestly. "I promise, the Nine-Nine will work hard to-" that was all Jake heard before the doors to the courtroom were closed behind him. 

They're gonna get me out, Jake thought to himself. They're gonna get me and Rosa out. I'll only be in prison for a week, two weeks, tops.

They tried. And failed.

The Nine Nine couldn't get them out. And as much as Jake thought the world of them, thought that they were the best detectives in all of New York City, they failed. The fact that they got hackers to link the bank account to Langdon's farm in Pennsylvania was inadmissible evidence. They couldn't produce enough concrete evidence against Hawkins, or at least evidence that proved he and Rosa were innocent. His trust in them wasn't enough to guarantee their success.

He didn't blame them. He blamed himself.

He and his girlfriend, Amy Santiago, tried to make it work. She had passed her sergeant's exam, but it was hard for them to be happy. Well, of course, Jake was happy for her when he found out, as they sat in the prison's visiting room, separated by a glass wall, hearing each other's voices through phones. But it was hard for them to do anything about this triumph. Amy becoming a sergeant was a major milestone in her career, but it wouldn't free Jake from prison. It wouldn't bring them together.

Amy started visiting less and less. For the first few months, she visited every Saturday at three p.m. without fail. But eventually, her job as a sergeant kept her busy. Every day crimes are committed in Brooklyn, and it didn't stop for them. The visits dwindled down to once every 3 weeks. Then once a month. The higher-ups at the NYPD didn't think it was good for their image if a sergeant kept visiting her disgraced detective of a boyfriend in prison. The visits further dwindled down once every few months. And in the last year, there were none at all.

Charles, Gina, and Terry all visited, but their visits were never regular. They all had their own families, families they needed to take care of. Gina gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She visited around three times one year after she gave birth, but stopped. Charles visited once every couple of months, but his adopted son Nikolaj was growing up, and when Charles wasn't at the precinct he had him to take care of. Terry had three children, children that would never be set aside just to visit Jake in prison. Captain Holt had never visited him once.

Jake and Rosa were sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but Jake got a deal. He could get out in five years on good behaviour. Today was that day. 

Dave hands Jake a bag made of cloth. "Your stuff. I'll give you ten minutes to get ready."

Jake peers into the bag. His wallet. His keys. His watch. His phone that is now outdated by five years and has a dead battery anyway. A ring box.

Upon seeing the box, Jake feels tears well up in his eyes. That damn ring. He feels a blast of self-hatred and regret.

On the last day of their trial, Jake was so sure that Matthew Langdon was the key. That he would be the one to testify against Hawkins and prove once and for all that he and Rosa were innocent. He was sure that the day would end in triumph, he and Amy strutting out of the courthouse hand in hand, Rosa and the rest of the Nine-Nine behind them, and a rainbow would appear in the sky because once again, justice had prevailed. And later that night, when he and Amy got home to their apartment after the squad had celebratory drinks at Shaw's, he would get down on one knee and propose to her.

But no. He had to screw it up. He had to convince Amy to drive to Pennsylvania because he foolishly thought Langdon was legit. It was his idea to get Langdon. It was all his fault.

Jake gets dressed. With Dave by his side as they walk through the hallway, he hears loud taunts from the other prisoners on his block. Taunts about him being a cop so of course he gets out early. Taunts from criminals he had put behind bars when he was still a cop.

Jake was getting out, getting back his freedom, and yet he does not feel a single ounce of happiness or relief.

Along with the few belongings he had on him as he was sent to prison five years ago, he receives $75. Enough for bus fare back to Brooklyn, enough for lunch, with a little bit left over. He walks to the bus stop near the prison compound, the sounds of traffic and birds and the wind blowing through his face shock him for a bit. He forgot what being out in the streets felt like.

The bus arrives and he hops on. The most obvious deduction behind a man getting on a bus near the prison is that he's an ex-con. The old lady giving him a suspicious look as he walks through the aisle thinks the same thing. In that moment, Jake feels a wave of bitterness rush through him. Being a detective is not a special job. Even this 98-year-old lady could do it. Anyone can be a detective, Jake thinks to himself.

He hops off in Brooklyn, his apartment building looming before him. _Does Amy still even live here?_ he wonders. She could have moved out in the five years he was locked up and didn't tell him. How the hell would he know? She didn't visit him for the last year.

Jake opens the door with the key Amy gave him when he moved in. He really hopes she still lives here, because getting arrested for breaking and entering on the day he just got out of prison for a bank robbery he didn't commit would suck so hard.

Looking around the room, Jake decides Amy still lives there. The old-fashioned ceramic figurines, the bookshelf, the grey couch, the photos of the two of them and Amy's family on the walls. They were all still there.

Jake looks up at the clock on the wall. It was 10:12 a.m. Amy wouldn't clock out of the precinct for another seven hours. The apartment was a ten minute drive away. It would take five minutes for Amy to park her car in the garage, walk inside the apartment building, and take the elevator to their floor. He had seven hours all by himself.

He's hungry, but he ignores it. The thought of food actually entering his mouth and passing through his oesophagus was ridiculous at this point. Eating normal food, cooked from home, rather than the barely edible mush they were fed at the prison, was a step towards normalcy. Jake doesn't feel like he's ready for that yet.

He looks around the apartment. He catches a whiff of Amy's perfume, the same one she's been wearing since he met her, and why wouldn't he. Amy didn't change her perfume.

His throat feels dry. He reaches for the kitchen cabinet and takes out a glass, filling it with water from the tap. He's reminded of the day Amy started making him drink eight glasses of water throughout the day, the morning before he and Rosa first met Hawkins in the flesh.

He shakes his head, tries to get rid of the memory. At the prison, the coffee was awful, and soda was only available through a vending machine that was for visitors only, so he was stuck with water. Although, the water from Amy's kitchen tap tasted way better.

He sits on the couch in the living room, facing the front door. He has nothing else to do. He doesn't feel like eating, or watching tv. He decides he would just wait for Amy to get home.

Unintentionally, his mind drifts to thoughts about how he was never going to be a cop again. He served time in prison. He got framed by a dirty cop for a bank robbery that he didn't really even commit. None of his colleagues could prove his innocence. Being a cop was his whole purpose in life, and he can't even do that now. The only thing he loved the most apart from Amy, gone.

He hopes, he hopes with all his might, that once Amy enters through the door, they would still have each other.

And he hopes he's enough.

\--

Once again, Jake is woken up by a sound.

He's still on the living room couch, and he'd fallen asleep for roughly seven hours. He was woken up by the sound of keys unlocking the front door of the apartment. 

Amy.

He straightens up, tries to look like he didn't just wake up, and calmly stares at the front door as it opens. Amy has her eyes down, and she puts her keys on a bowl near the door. Her eyes settle on the couch, and she starts.

This is the first time they had seen each other in over a year.

"Jake…"

"Amy."

"I-- I completely forgot--"

"That I was getting released today. Yeah, I figured."

"I'm so s-"

"It's fine. Really."

Both of them take deep breaths. 

"Life is too crappy to beat around the bush, so… why didn't you visit me for a year?" Jake asks.

"Jake… you know I love you. I always will. But being a sergeant…being a sergeant and not having you there by my side was too painful. I just…I couldn't bear seeing you in that depressing prison knowing that I was going to have to drive back to New York, go back to my job, my job that's given me the complete opposite of what it got you…and…and…"

For the first time since Jake could remember, Amy was stammering.

"I get it," he says. "I just wanted to know, that's all."

"I'm--I'm glad you're back. And it's going to take some time, but we can pick up right where we left off--"

"How's Captain Holt doing?" Jake asks, derailing the topic of their relationship temporarily. "He never visited me once. Not even a phone call."

"Jake," Amy says, and her tone makes him look straight at her, makes him feel like a bomb was about to be dropped. "Captain Holt retired."

"What?"

"He retired. About a month after the trial."

Jake stares at her.

"No one told you?"

He shakes his head.

She sighs. "After….we reached a dead end on Hawkins, Holt took it really hard. I think he blamed himself. Said he failed you and Rosa as a captain. Then said something about a promise he made. We all thought it was just him being disappointed, feeling defeated like the rest of us. The next day he announced he was going into early retirement."

"So who's the new captain?"

"Some stickler from the Seven Five. Captain Harold Chen. He's alright, but… he's not Holt."

Jake takes a good look at Amy. She is still beautiful, but he notices the bags under her eyes. He decides that there's probably some truth to why she didn't visit him for a year. Jake feels disgust at himself, disgust at how he could think only of himself at this moment. But at least it was adequate explanation for why Amy, who is basically a walking, talking calendar, would forget he was being released that day.

"So how's sergeant life?"

"It's… busy."

They stare at each other, not sure what to say.

"Jake, you look tired--"

"Nah, I'm well-rested--"

"Let me go put your things away--" Amy reaches for the cloth bag before Jake could stop her.

"No, don't--" Jake knocks the bag out of Amy's hand, and its contents topple to the floor.

Amy picks up the ring box. "What's this?"

She sits down on the couch, and opens it reluctantly. She looks from the ring to Jake's face.

"On the last day of the trial, I was so sure we would win. I was going to ask you to marry me."

Amy licks her dry lips and blinks back tears.

Jake chuckles to himself. "I was so sure," he whispered. He stares into Amy's eyes, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

"I can't go back to the force. I'll never be a cop again," he says, almost choking on his words. "It's the only thing I've ever been my whole life."

"Maybe it's time to start a new one," Amy says, smiling through her tears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy has a heartfelt talk with Jake's mother.

_It had been a long day, and Amy Santiago's mind was filled with fog._

_She took out her keys, opened the door, and upon seeing who was sitting on her couch, her stomach dropped._

_Jake._

_She had completely forgotten he was getting released that day._

_It was obvious the five years he was locked up for had gotten to him. He looked paler, skinnier, and his eyes were sunken, like he hadn't had a healthy amount of sleep in years. Which was probably true._

_She wanted to hug him so tight that he would struggle to breathe. But she also didn't want to touch him, like an artefact in a museum, afraid that he would break._

_He looked so fragile._

_Their conversation was, for lack of a better word, depressing. And awkward. Amy could have kicked herself for not telling him about Captain Holt retiring early. She thought someone else must have told him. Charles, Terry, or Gina. Eventually it slipped her mind, and she never got to tell him on any of her visits._

_But maybe, deep down inside, she just didn't want to be the one to break the bad news to him._

_It caught her off guard that Jake would outright ask her why she didn't visit him for a year. She thought it would creep up into their conversation naturally, or maybe Jake would never ask her._

_She couldn't lie. She would never lie to him, and she wasn't about to start._

_To her relief, he seemed accepting of her answer. That she just needed space. That she couldn't bear the thought of seeing him in that prison, but having the comfort of her freedom. The thought of her being a sergeant but never getting to see him at his desk, in the 99th precinct, waiting for her. The thought of her visits not being able to do a damn thing about his freedom. And it hurt._

_She would never forgive herself for that._

_And then there was that box. It dropped out of the bag Jake had with him, with a soft thud on the living room carpet._

_Even though her eyes were blurry with tears, she could still see the diamond sparkling in the light._

_Her heart broke when Jake told her that he was supposed to ask her to marry him, supposed to put that ring on her finger, on the last day of the trial five years ago, after they got home._

_Her heart broke when Jake told her his fear of the future, his fear of what the future could have in store for him: nothing._

_Her mind raced with the thoughts of them getting married, having children, having grandchildren, retiring in some beach where the sea gulls squawked and the sunset was always beautiful, trees swaying in the breeze._

_Them growing old together._

_"Maybe it's time to start a new one," she said._

Amy wakes up with a flinch the next morning.

Jake's side of the bed is cold. She pulls down the covers, as if he could be hiding underneath, but of course it is empty.

"Jake?" she calls out. There is no answer.

She then spots the folded up piece of paper on the bedside table.

__

_Please don't look for me. I love you._

_Jake_

"Oh no," she mutters. She crumples up the piece of paper. "Nononononono."

She hops out of the bed and glances at her phone, momentarily thinking she could call him and ask where he is. But of course. Jake's phone was an outdated, non-functioning brick.

 _He could not have just disappeared like that,_ she thinks to herself, outraged. And scared. _Without telling me. He couldn't have._

Was…was this her fault? For suggesting that he--they--start a new life? Did he bolt because he…

Because he didn't want to be with her anymore?

Whatever the reason, Amy does not want to think about it right away. She needs to find Jake first.

And she had the right people for that.

\----

She calls an impromptu meeting in the briefing room of the 99th precinct. Detective Charles Boyle, Gina Linetti, and Sergeant Terry Jeffords walk in.

"What's this about, Amy?" Terry asks her.

She stares sadly at the seat Jake usually sat in. Captain Holt would be at the podium, giving out announcements, and Jake would heckle him, making the entire room chuckle.

And now that seat was empty.

"Amy?"

She blinks back into focus and clears her throat.

"Are you okay?" Charles asks her.

"Um…I'm fine." She takes a deep breath. "Yesterday, Jake got released from prison."

"What?!" the three of them ask in unison.

"Nobody told us he got a deal. Good behaviour?" Charles asks.

"Yeah."

"Well… that's good news, isn't it? When can we see him?" Gina asks.

"He's gone. He left me a note saying not to look for him. But of course we're looking for him. We have to find him and bring him back home. I'm scared that he went out of town."

Before anyone could say anything else, Amy's phone rings. It was an unsaved number.

"Hello?"

A female voice answers. "Is this Amy Santiago?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Karen. Karen Peralta. Jake's mom."

"Mrs. Peralta!" Amy couldn't believe it. Jake's mom was calling her. This could be really good or really bad.

"Can you come to my house? I have something important to tell you. It's about Jake."

"Of course. I'll be there in half an hour." Amy hangs up and puts the phone back in her pocket, about to rush through the door.

"That was Jake's mom? What's going on?" Terry asks.

"Yeah. I don't know. She wants me to come to her house."

"Is there anything we can do? Should we come along?" Charles asks. "I really hope my hair doesn't turn white again."

"Thanks, guys, but I'll go alone. I'll let you know if I need you," Amy says. She walks briskly to the elevator and pushes the down button.

The elevator door dings open, revealing a slim, middle-aged Chinese-American man.

"Sergeant Santiago. Where are you off to?" Captain Harold Chen asks. 

"Good morning, sir. I just need to attend to some personal business. It's urgent. I'll be back later."

"It's not like you to just rush off during work hours. If you have something to attend to, you need to tell me what it is."

"Um… it's about my boyfriend. Former detective Jake Peralta."

"He was released from prison yesterday, correct?"

"Yes, sir. How did you know?"

"I make it a point to research my employees. If it's important… I'll leave you to it. You can have the rest of the day off if you need to."

"Wow, uh… thank you, sir." Amy politely nods and enters the elevator.

Captain Chen watches it close.

\--

Karen Peralta opens the door to Amy's frantic knocks.

"Mrs. Peralta."

"Amy. How are you?"

"Apart from Jake running away in the middle of the night, I… couldn't be better."

"Sweetie. You don't need to be strong for me."

Karen lets her inside the house. "So what was it you needed to tell me?" Amy asks, worried creases forming on her forehead.

"I want you to know Jake is fine. He came here at around 1 in the morning, and he slept here for the rest of the night."

Amy breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. Finally, some news. Where is he? Is he upstairs?"

"No. He isn't. We had a long talk this morning. I knew he got released from prison yesterday, but I was feeling sick or I would've picked him up myself. I actually thought you would be able to."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm dealing with some internal issues at the m-"

"Amy. You don't need to explain yourself to me."

"Thank you," Amy whispers. Knowing that Jake was okay, and that Karen was not making anything harder for her, her chest felt lighter. She weeps in bittersweet relief.

Karen rubs Amy's back. "I would've thought you're all cried out. Cried yourself to sleep every night that Jake wasn't with you. But now it seems to me this is the first time you've cried in a long time. Maybe five years?"

Amy chuckles through her tears. "That obvious, huh?" She reaches for a tissue on the coffee table and blows her nose.

She sighs. "Grew up as the only girl with seven brothers, six of which were in the force. My dad was in the force. My mom taught me how to change a tire, which might tell you what kind of woman she was. She was nice, but she had no time for all the girly talk that came with having a girl. At first, I thought it was a good thing. She taught me how to be strong, how not to rely on anyone else but myself. I'm not cold or emotionless, I know how to express emotion. But I didn't know how to be vulnerable. Then I met Jake, and felt like I could be vulnerable around him. Even though having him be taken away from me twice ripped me apart inside, I was just…numb."

Amy looks back up at Karen, and sees that she is smiling at her. 

"Jake woke up at 7:30 this morning. I made him his favourite breakfast that's not made of candy--pancakes with bananas and whipped cream. He told me about… what he was supposed to do if he and Rosa were declared innocent."

"Yeah. He was gonna propose to me."

"He told me about how it broke him inside. That he was going to be apart from you, locked up. And that he blames himself. That it was his idea to drive out to Pennsylvania and bring that witness who ended up betraying you. That it was his fault."

Hearing that, fresh tears streak down Amy's face. "But it's not! All Jake wanted to do was the right thing. He and Rosa wanted to bring down Hawkins and they just ended up getting screwed over! And we lost five years of our lives, our lives that we could have spent together. And now… now… we don't know how to be with each other again. Jake can never be a cop again, while I'm all alone at my job, in the one place that brought us together from the beginning. What if everything stays broken forever? How will I move on? How will he move on? Now he disappears on me because…because…"

Karen does not prod her to finish her sentence. "Amy. Jake, no matter how old he gets, no matter how much he wants everyone, especially you, to think that he's strong all the time…inside is one scared little boy. But I know he's not someone who abandons the people he loves. And no matter how broken everything feels right now, knowing you, knowing the two of you and how you bring out the best in each other, you'll go through it. You'll survive. Regardless of whether your relationship survives… you'll be able to move on."

Amy wipes her eyes, stinging and red. 

"So… do you know where he is, Karen?" she asks.

"Not exactly, no. After he ate breakfast, he told me he was going out for a walk. Said he needed to think about his future, and… where he's gonna go from here. But he's probably not far. I don't think he has any intention of leaving you."

This makes Amy feel better, but does not make her job easier. He could be anywhere in the city. "Thank you, Karen. I…I needed to come here. Not just for Jake, but for me."

"Of course."

"Now I gotta go find him."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake visits Captain Holt.

_Jake looked at the digital alarm clock on Amy's bedside table. 12:24am._

_Amy was fast asleep beside him. She'd been asleep for well over an hour now. With the way she was breathing, it was obvious that she was exhausted after a day of work._

_He couldn't sleep. Not after the accidental seven-hour nap he took on Amy's couch soon after he arrived. Well, he did deserve it. He had almost never gotten a full eight hours of sleep at the prison. The bed was uncomfortable and hurt his back, there were always head checks at ungodly hours of the night, the snores from the nearby cells kept him awake. Even after five years, he had never grown accustomed to the prison's nighttime life._

_But still. A nap which he woke up from in the late afternoon meant he wouldn't be able to fall asleep immediately during the nighttime._

_He rolled over on his side and stared out the window. The curtains were pulled apart, and the full moon shone brightly over the Brooklyn skyline. Jake thought it was beautiful. Strangely enough, there were none of the usual New York noises at night: the sound of traffic, people arguing in the streets, cats hissing. It's like the city decided to give him a break and make it easier for him to fall asleep._

_If only his brain thought the same thing._

_After the initial awkwardness, Jake and Amy ordered a pizza for dinner. They both knew Amy couldn't cook to save her life, and she thought that making Jake cook after being released from prison was a bit crass. Jake had no objections to this; pizza was one of the foods he missed the most during his time in prison._

_As they ate pizza, they watched TV. The fact that they both avoided having an actual, proper conversation of what went on earlier--Amy finding out Jake was supposed to propose, Amy vaguely suggesting they 'start a new life'--was the huge, neon-lit elephant in the room that neither of them wanted to acknowledge. Instead, they both chuckled at what the TV was depicting, heckling the contestants of a cooking show, Jake making funny impressions of the host._

_A couple of hours of that, then Amy caught up with some work. She opened up her laptop and, quite frankly, tried to make herself look busier than she actually was. Jake remained on the couch, tried to make small talk and asked her random inane questions that didn't matter._

_Around 11pm, they both decided to go to bed, relieved that the night was over._

_Jake couldn't stand it. He was the reason why things are like this now. He was the one who went to prison. He was the one who went away. He couldn't blame Amy for wanting some space, and he couldn't blame her for not exactly knowing what to say to him now that he's back._

_It was like witness protection all over again, except this time it was worse. The squad drove all the way down to Florida to save him and Captain Holt, and for a little while he and Amy were out of sync, due to being separated for six months. But they both got into sync again soon after because they were both being cops, doing what they were born to do and protecting each other._

_Now… it was different._

_Jake grabbed a notepad from the drawer and a pen so he could write a note. He folded it up and put it on the table, where Amy could see it._

_He got out his wallet, making sure he had enough for cab fare, put on a jacket and his shoes._

_He kissed Amy on the forehead before shutting the bedroom door closed._

 

The morning sun shines directly on Jake's face, making him sweat.

He didn't realise how much he missed his mom's cooking. Banana pancakes and whipped cream--Lord knows it was healthier than fruit roll-ups and gummy bears, what he calls a breakfast burrito. But now, the pancakes his mom had made for him are burning off as he walks down a street in an affluent-looking neighbourhood. The bus dropped him off four blocks away, and he had to walk the rest of the way to his destination.

The house where former Captain Raymond Holt and his husband live.

Now that he's retired, there's no reason to think Holt was going to be at work in the 99th precinct on a weekday morning. But Jake hopes that he didn't go on vacation to some far-off country, or--God forbid--still asleep.

He knocks on the door.

The door opens, and standing in front of him was Raymond Holt.

Jake didn't realise how much he actually missed him until he sees him again after five years.

"Jake," Holt says slowly, as if he isn't quite sure what to say, "what are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Captain. Oh, wait--am I still allowed to say that now that you're retired?" Jake says, stepping inside the house.

"I--I didn't realise you've been released."

"Yesterday, as a matter of fact! So, how's it hanging? How's Kevin and Cheddar?"

Holt stares at Jake incredulously, as if he had survived a house fire within an inch of his life but was more concerned with the weather than getting medical help.

"Jake. We haven't seen each other in five years. Would you like to talk ab-"

"I told you, I'm not good with emotions," Jake snaps, frustrated. He sighs. 

There was a pause, a tension in the air. "Me neither."

"I just--I don't know how to go back to my life. Nothing is the same. I don't know how I'm gonna fit into all of this."

"Why don't you sit down."

Jake sits in the leather armchair in Holt's receiving room. The oak bookshelves tower before him.

"So, what is it that's troubling you?"

"Amy…she's a sergeant. And you...you're retired! Gina's a mom! Boyle's kid is all grown up now, and so are Terry's children! And me… I'm nothing. I'm never gonna be a cop again. I've been left behind by the entire world. There is no constant in my life… except… except what Amy and I have. And I don't even know if I'm deserving of that anymore. If I still deserve to have her in my life."

"Tell me what you mean by that."

"Amy is the only good thing in my life, now that my entire career has been ripped away from me. But how…how are we going to maintain our relationship, I mean--how is it supposed to grow and keep developing and all that if--if we're at completely different places in our lives right now? A sergeant dating an ex-con. Amy's gonna get a load of crap for just being with me! And she doesn't deserve that! She's worked too hard all her life for this job just to have it be taken away from her, little by little, because of the idiot who couldn't prove his innocence, for being overconfident and thinking everything was gonna be alright--"

Jake is in hysterics, and almost yelling. His face was red all over, tears threatening to escape from his eyes.

"Jake. Calm down. Please," Holt says.

He catches his breath.

"I told you," he mutters, "I'm not good with emotions."

"I know."

They stare at each other. Jake rubs his eyes.

"So what about you, huh? Why--why did you retire?"

"It's complicated."

"Did--did you really blame yourself? For me and Rosa? Captain, you _know_ that's not your fault--"

"I'm not good at…accepting that I have failed. It was my job to help you and Rosa prove that you were not guilty of any crime. It was me who approved your investigation of Hawkins, but stupid enough not to keep an official record of it. You wouldn't have been in that situation if it weren't for me. I could've called for back-up, asked for another squad, called the higher-ups and told them I wanted to initiate an investigation into Hawkins before it started… I could have done so many things."

"Captain, the only thing that tells me… is that you had faith in Rosa and me. You believed in us so much that you didn't think of doing any of those things, you just went ahead and told us we could do it."

"Well… you're not wrong about that. But I decided to retire early because I didn't want anyone else or any future members of the squad to have to endure something like that again, under my leadership…"

"Stop. Frankly, Captain, what you're saying is complete baloney."

Holt rolls his eyes good-naturedly. "You know I hate when you use that word."

"I know."

They chuckle.

Jake sighs. "Honestly, I don't even know why I came here. I guess I just wanted to see you."

There was a pause.

"You're the father I never had."

Holt tries to hide how touched he was after hearing that. He starts blinking rapidly, and clears his throat.

"Look. You and Amy Santiago were two of the best detectives I've ever had. And there's no reason to think that the two of you aren't going to survive this ordeal. You've survived worse. You're two of the strongest people I've ever met. And the fact that there have been some changes to your life shouldn't be a problem. Life _keeps_ changing, Jake. It's how you deal with that change that matters, it's how you deal with it that shows how right you and Amy are for each other. Now, Kevin and I… we've been together for a long time. And we're still here. Because we decided that whatever life throws at us, however big a change could be, we wouldn't let it break us apart. Because we realised a long time ago that we do truly love each other, and nothing will ever be more important. Not every love is the same, I know that. You can love someone but it might not be strong enough to withstand change. It's up to you to decide whether a person is worth it."

Jake blinks, realisation dawning over him.

_The night he was about to go undercover.  
"I wish something could happen between us. Romantic stylez."_

_That day he and Amy were in that hotel. They were both with different people whom they didn't love._  
_"You liked Amy?"_  
_"I did."_  
_"…Amy liked you back."_  
_"Did you?"_  
_"Maybe. Yes. A little."_

_That night they pretended to be Johnny and Dora._  
_"He makes me laugh."_  
_"There's no one else's opinion I care more about than hers."_

_That day he and Rosa looked for Amy before her sergeant's exam._  
_"What if everything changes between us?"_  
_"You can't be afraid to be successful. You're too good for that."_

_And the night before._  
_"It's the only thing I've ever been my whole life."_  
_"Maybe it's time to start a new one."_

"Now. Do you love Amy?"

"Yes. More than anything in the world."

"More than you love being a cop?"

"Yes. Without a doubt."

"I don't see why you're still here."

Jake leaps out of the chair, and something falls to the floor.

Holt points to it. "What's that?" Jake looks down. 

"Oh."

It is the ring box. He forgot he had put it in his jacket pocket the night before, after Amy saw it, and hadn't taken it out since. Jake picks it up and opens it.

He sighs. "I was supposed to give this to Amy. On the last day of the trial. When I thought Rosa and I would win."

He snaps it shut and puts it back in his pocket. He looks back up at Captain Holt.

"Go to her. Son."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Amy find their way to a place that was once special to them.

Standing in Captain Raymond Holt's elegant receiving room, Jake Peralta blinks in total euphoria. His heart starts beating faster, but not out of nervousness. Out of excitement.

He's finally going to do it. It was long overdue. 

"Wait!" he exclaims, snapping out of his reverie. "She doesn't know where I am. I told her not to look for me, like an _idiot._ And I can't just go to the 99th precinct--"

"Son. Do you really think Amy Santiago is going to obey a stupid request and not look for you?"

"Nah, nah, you're right. But we don't know where the other one is, how are we--"

Just then, Captain Holt's phone rings. They both look at the caller I.D.

_**INCOMING CALL:** 99th Precinct Brooklyn_

Jake gasps. "It's her! Answer it, Captain!"

"What do I tell her?"

"Uhh... tell her I came here to talk to you, but I already left. Tell her I'm in..."

The place where he fell in love with her. The place where he found her and reassured her she shouldn't be afraid to be successful, and that he would be there with her every step of the way.

"Jake!"

"Uhh, tell her I'm in some neighbourhood in Queens. That'll buy us some time."

Captain Holt was confused, but did what Jake asked him to do anyway.

\--

Amy Santiago drove back to the 99th Precinct after having a heartfelt talk with Jake's mother. She needed it. But now, she was going to have to ask her friends and colleagues to help her look for Jake.

She steps out of the elevator and looks around. 

Sergeant Terry Jeffords is in the briefing room, talking to a bulletproof vest-clad squad. It is clear that he is briefing them on a mission they have to undertake afterwards, led by him.

Charles Boyle has a stack of folders on his desk, the phone pressed against his ear while a small crowd of people surrounded him, yelling out complaints. He isn't going to be done anytime soon.

Gina Linetti is sitting at her desk, a heavy stack of paperwork in front of her, as Captain Chen gave her a stern nod before entering his office. He has just given her a task that he assured her _has_ to be finished that day. 

Just then, Amy remembers an old mentor. Maybe he could help.

The phone rings several times before Captain Holt finally picks up.

"Hello?"

"Captain--I mean, Raymond."

"Amy? Is that you?"

"Yes! Um... look. Jake was released from prison yesterday. But last night, he left my house. I don't know where he is. I can't exactly use police resources to find him, but the rest of the squad are busy with work. You're the only one I can turn to for help, I'm afraid."

"Amy. Jake was just here, at my house. He left about half an hour ago."

"Really?! Did he say where he was going? Is he going back to my apartment?"

"Um... he said something about having to go to a neighbourhood in Queens, had to take care of something. He didn't specify an address though, I'm sorry. I asked him for his phone number but he said his phone was just one big Lego block now--"

Queens? Amy had no idea what connections Jake had in that part of New York. He didn't have any family that lived there as far as she knew. Nevertheless, she had to go there now before he could get further away.

She sighs. Queens was a big borough. Jake was not making it easy for her.

"Thank you, sir. I'll call you when I find him."

"Good luck, Amy. Goodbye."

She hangs up.

\--

"Now tell me again why you wanted to deceive her, Peralta?"

"Aha! But I never told you the first time, so your use of the word 'again' is--"

Captain Holt stares at him.

"She can't beat us to where we're going. The 99th precinct is way closer to where I want her to find me. If we make her drive out to Queens, we can be there just in time, then you'll call her on her phone and say you found me at this address. Can you drive me?"

Jake and Captain Holt get in the Captain's car. "Where are we going?"

"397 Barton Street. Floor it."

\--

397 Barton Street was where he and Amy conducted a stakeout the night Jake won their workplace bet. If he won, he would take her out on the worst date ever. If she won, she would set his car aflame.

Needless to say, Amy had to change out of an itchy, blue polyester dress in the middle of their date and into normal clothes for their stakeout.

As they were parked on the building's rooftop, waiting for a truck full of drugs, Jake realized his true feelings for her, and that Charles was right.

_"Somewhere down deep, you like Amy."_

Well, Charles was only half-right. He had liked Amy long before the stakeout. That night, he had fallen in love with her for real.

Three years after the stakeout, Amy had to take her sergeant's exam.

Jake had prepared the appropriate conditions for her to practice in. He even bought Hitchcock and Scully two hours worth of potato chips. An hour later, he found out the potato chips were not enough--and that Amy had left.

It took him and Rosa a couple of hours before they could locate her, and by then, she only had 20 minutes left before the exam started. He found her on the same rooftop where he had fallen in love with her.

There, she expressed her reluctance in becoming a sergeant, out of fear that she would become his boss, causing things to change between them.

Jake didn't think it was possible, but he fell more in love with her in that moment.

And then he Die Hard-ed off the roof, and Rosa had to rescue him while Amy ran to her sergeant's exam. He and Rosa waited for her outside until she finished.

"There. That's the building, Captain."

Captain Holt parks the car across the street from the building. "Do you still have Amy's phone number?" Jake asks.

"If she didn't change it, yes." Captain Holt goes to his contacts and clicks on Amy.

Somewhere in Queens, Amy has just started surveying the streets, looking for any sign of Jake. Her phone rings in her blazer pocket.

"Hello?"

"Amy! Jake is at this address."

"Oh my God! Where is he?"

"He's on the rooftop of 397 Barton Street."

Amy gasps. "On--on the rooftop? He's not about to jump, is he?" she asks, terrified.

Captain Holt realises his mistake. "No, no, no. He called me somehow. He's fine. Just meet him there, okay?" From the passenger seat, Jake looks at him witheringly.

Amy breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She runs back to where she parked her car and drives off.

"What's so special about this building, anyway?" Captain Holt asks.

"January 14, 2014. You asked us to do a stakeout here, remember?"

"Oh, yes. That night we were having celebratory drinks at Shaw's for Boyle when he won that award."

"Yep. Also the same night I took Amy out on the worst date ever when I won our bet."

Captain Holt stares at Jake in realisation. "And you realised your true feelings for her."

"Exactly. This is also where Rosa and I found her after I thought she flipped out during her practice sergeant's exam. ...And then I Die Hard-ed off the roof."

"Of course you did."

\--

"Captain Holt?" Amy mutters to herself, as her car approaches the building. He is standing outside the building door, as if waiting for someone.

She parks the car and gets out. Captain Holt spots her.

"Captain, what are you doing here? Jake is still fine, right?" she asks, not correcting herself this time.

"Never mind that. Jake is somewhere on the roof. But you have to hurry."

Amy has no idea what was going on. She wants to ask, but Captain Holt made it seem so urgent. 

The building was an ordinary apartment building with no doorman, and the landlord was almost never there. She has no trouble taking the elevator to the top floor and climbing up the stairs that ended in front of a non-secure metal door. She pushes it open.

Jake was standing there, facing the door, as if he was expecting her, the Brooklyn skyline behind him and the sun blazing in golden light.

As if he was waiting for her the whole time.

"Jake!" she yells. She runs up to him. His face does not change--he was still smiling serenely at her. "You scared me! I--I thought you'd run away." They embrace each other. Amy was the first to pull away.

"I'm sorry for making you worry. Writing that note and leaving in the middle of the night was uncool--"

"Jake. If--if this was because of what I said, about us…starting a new life together, and it freaked you out--I'm sorry, okay?" Amy says solemnly. "We don't have to rush into it. If you need more time to--"

"Amy. You are the most intelligent, beautiful, amazing woman I have ever met. But you cannot be more wrong."

"What?"

In that moment, realisation dawned on her. At first, she didn't know why Jake would be in this building. Hearing it come from Captain Holt made it seem like any old random address, but in the five years when Jake was gone and her work almost drowned her, she seemed to have forgotten. She knew there was something familiar with the sight of Jake standing on that rooftop, the exact same buildings and skyline behind him. 

"I don't want more time to think. I literally cannot wait another second to start a new life with you."

Lost in her thoughts, before she realises what's happening, Jake gets down on one knee in front of her and pulls out a familiar box from his jacket pocket.

Tears immediately spring into her eyes.

"I'm sorry for making you wait five years. And it might have taken a bit more time for me to stop being an idiot and finally realise that this is what I immediately should have done, but… I don't care about my old life anymore. You _are_ my life. I love you more than anything in the world, and nothing can ever be more important to me than you are."

Amy wipes the tears from her eyes, but they wouldn't stop coming out.

Jake opens the box, the diamond on the ring sparkling as the sun bears down on it, temporarily blinding the both of them for a nanosecond. Jake's brown eyes sparkled almost as brightly, and Amy feels herself getting lost in them.

"Amy Santiago… will you marry me?"

"YES!" Amy immediately yells, not letting the question hang in the air. There was no dramatic pause for either of them. "I love you," they whisper to each other. Their lips touch, their arms making their way back to an embrace.

With no doubt in their minds, they both decide--this is exactly where they were supposed to be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Amy finally get married, but not without more revelations.

Sergeant Terry Jeffords hangs up the phone at Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta's apartment.

Amy and Jake had been engaged for two months (the soonest it could get as Jake was serious about not being able to wait another second, while making sure everyone they wanted to be there could make it). Their wedding--the one thing that would mark the start of their new life, the one thing that would make all of their past hardships worth it--is going to take place next week.

Now, their old squad was in their living room after a day of last-minute (week?) wedding preparations: Jake, Amy, Charles, Terry, Gina, and Captain Holt.

There was only one person missing.

Roughly two months ago, Terry conducted a visit to the New York State Penitentiary to visit Rosa Diaz and ask them about her status, at Jake and Amy's request. Rosa was Jake's co-defendant, after they were framed by Lieutenant Melanie Hawkins for robbing a bank. They were sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but Jake got out after five years on good behaviour. The rest of the squad visited Rosa as often as they visited Jake (which wasn't very much), and as expected, their visits dwindled down due to precinct workload and--there was no use denying it--life just got in the way.

"Guys," Terry said when he came back, "they told me she already got released. About three months before Jake."

Jake remembered feeling a pang of hurt after hearing that. Why wouldn't Rosa make contact with any of them after being released?

Of course, they wanted her to come to their wedding. After finding out she had been released, they needed to know her address so they could send her the Save the Date as well as the invitation, and knowing her, she moved apartments every time someone stepped foot into her house. Just before the last day of their trial, she packed her bags and planned to move to Argentina with her fiance Adrian, giving Captain Holt the keys to her last apartment and telling him not to give it to Hitchcock. After having her mind changed on a bus heading to Florida by Captain Holt, she attended the trial, where she and Jake were declared guilty.

Despite knowing her amazing skills in disguise and basically disappearing off the planet, they still hoped she would eventually turn up somehow. Maybe after she cooled off, established a new life and possibly a new identity in a country in South America, she would still find a way to make contact with them, to say hello.

But she never did.

"That was her sister," Terry says. "She still has no idea where Rosa could be. Says Rosa has never made any contact with her, hasn't spoken to her or seen her since she last visited her in prison, which was about a year ago. We all miss her, but--she's gone. I'm sorry, guys."

"UGH, where could she possibly be?!" Gina exclaims. "There's still some Nancy Myers movies we haven't watched."

"What if she's dead?" Charles asks.

"Please, Charles. Rosa isn't going to be the first person from this squad to die. Don't be stupid."

\--

Later that night, after the squad went home, Jake and Amy sit on the couch and turn on the TV to the local news.

_"Former NYPD Lieutenant Melanie Hawkins has been found murdered at her home in Sacramento, California last night. After testifying against disgraced NYPD detectives Jake Peralta and Rosa Diaz for a bank robbery five years ago, she retreated to a house in a quiet neighbourhood in Sacramento and resigned from the force. And it looks like evidence that indicates she might have framed them for that robbery are present at the scene of the crime, as well as documents linking her to several notable drug syndicates in New York. Sacramento PD are currently investigating who could have--"_

"Holy crap," Jake mutters. He and Amy turn to each other in disbelief.

\--

Today is the day.

Jake and Amy were finally about to get married.

After watching the news of Melanie Hawkins being murdered all the way in California, Jake, Amy, and the rest of the squad were interviewed by the NYPD as a form of assistance to the Sacramento PD. They had all established solid alibis on the night of the murder, and there was no evidence linking them to having travelled to California or paying anyone to murder Hawkins. They pulled some strings, and found out what the crime scene looked like. Hawkins had her throat slit in her kitchen floor, while documents incriminating her for being the leader of the Golden Gang bank robbers, as well as transactions from drug syndicates and bribes she accepted from them, other precincts, and even government officials, were piled neatly on the kitchen counter. There was no evidence as to who the suspect could be--no fingerprints, no footage, nothing.

They were in the clear.

Rosa was still nowhere to be found.

They decided there was nothing more they could do, and that the wedding had to go on without their dear friend. They hoped that, wherever she was, she was doing alright.

The wedding is at a multi-purpose hall, which was right near the building where Jake had proposed to Amy. The set-up looks beautiful, if not a little eccentric. Gina, as well as being a bridesmaid, had volunteered herself as the head of decorations, and for some reason, had incorporated wolves and unicorns into the motif. Charles took care of the food, and hired the best caterer Brooklyn had to offer. He was also Jake's best man. Terry and Captain Holt were his groomsmen. Amy's long-time best friend Kylie was the maid of honour. 

Amy walks down the aisle in her long white wedding gown, a bouquet of pink lilies clutched in her hand. The wedding wasn't big, and they didn't invite a whole lot of people--just the squad (including Hitchcock and Scully), their spouses and children, Captain Chen, Jake's parents, a couple of his college friends, Amy's parents, her brothers, and their wives and kids--but Amy felt a million eyes on her.

Jake, meanwhile, couldn't believe that he was standing at the altar, about to marry the woman of his dreams. He could not comprehend how he got so lucky, that after years of thinking he was going to die alone, the love of his life was sitting right across from his desk.

Charles starts sobbing, and doesn't even try to hide it. Jake chuckles endearingly.

They say their vows, and the marriage officiant tells Jake he may now kiss the bride.

It was the best kiss they had so far.

Amidst the cheers and whoops, flower petals being flung into the air, Amy's eyes momentarily linger to the doors at the end of the aisle, which discreetly open.

A woman with dark curly hair wearing a simple blue dress and sunglasses enters, and leans against the wall.

Amy squints, but Jake tries to kiss her again, and she lets herself get back to the festivities, arms hugging her, lips kissing her on the cheeks. She looks back again at the end of the hall.

She's gone.

\--

"Jake, I have to tell you something."

They were now in the midst of their wedding reception. While Amy's family members danced and sang along to Cuban music and the rest of them drank and partied, Jake and Amy were sitting on a table at the front of the room.

"Oh no. Don't tell me you want to get a divorce," Jake says half-jokingly. "But seriously, please don't tell me that."

"No. This is serious."

"What is it?"

"I think--I think I saw Rosa."

"What?"

"In the other room, where the wedding took place. After we kissed, I saw someone enter through the doors. She was wearing sunglasses, but she looked exactly like Rosa. Same hair, same face, same slim build."

"Amy... maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Hawkins getting murdered blind-sided us, and the fact we still don't know where Rosa is, things could get muddled-"

She shakes her head. "Jake, I know what I saw. But then, she just disappeared."

"Okay. I believe you. But let's get back to the party, shall we?"

\--

Unfortunately, the reception was where the romantic vibes of the evening ended. There were no fancy goodbyes, or wishes for them to "have fun" on their honeymoon. Neither of them had enough saved up for it yet. But they didn't care.

Jake unlocks the door to their apartment, then picks Amy up and into his arms. "Shall we, my wife?" Amy giggles as she turns the doorknob.

Jake turns on the light-switch.

"Hey guys."

"AHHH!" they scream.

Sitting on their couch was Rosa Diaz.

Jake puts Amy down. "Rosa?!"

"I told you I wasn't seeing things," Amy says.

Rosa lets the two of them hug her, but briefly. She was still wearing the blue dress that Amy saw her in a few hours before.

"You came to the wedding after all! Why didn't you stay?"

"Because I'm not supposed to be here. I'm pretty sure they're looking for me."

"Who?"

"I don't know. The police. Hawkins' old friends."

"You could've at least said hello," Jake says.

"I wanted to. I really did. I just didn't want to miss the chance of seeing two of my best friends get married. I couldn't stay for long, but I still needed to explain something to you before I... went away, which is why I came here."

"How did you even get in?" Amy asks. Rosa stares at her, one eyebrow raised. "I forgot who I'm talking to," Amy mutters good-naturedly.

"Sit down, both of you."

Rosa takes a deep breath, as Jake and Amy stare intently at her.

"I did it."

"Did what?"

"I killed Hawkins."

\--

After a long, silent pause, which ended with Jake hyperventilating and screaming "OH MY GOD" several times and she and Amy had to calm him down, Rosa spoke again.

"I didn't _murder_ her," Rosa says. "It was self-defense."

"So what exactly happened?" Amy asks.

"I didn't know Jake got a good behaviour deal. I really thought he was going to spend fifteen years in that prison. When I got out, I knew I had to keep looking for evidence against Hawkins, some that the squad might have missed. I called some guys from other precincts, asked them to sniff around, send me copies of evidence files that the Nine Nine already had, but also some _other_ forms of evidence that they didn't. Basically I asked some of them to be spies. Hawkins' lackeys started losing confidence, and I got information out of them in ways I'm not exactly proud of but I also don't regret. After the trial, she started to lay low, keep a low profile. She knew that people were going to start asking questions and the walls she had put up to protect herself and her corrupt empire wouldn't stay up forever, until she could quietly resign. No one knows where she moved to, but somehow someone found out and I got word she moved around the country until she settled in Sacramento."

"What I don't understand is...why you didn't call any of us. We could have helped you."

"I'm sorry. But I didn't want to bring you guys into this. I didn't know you had gotten out until I was already in the middle of it. The rest of the squad had all moved on with their lives. I heard you two got engaged and I'd rather you think it was finally over, so you could move on with your lives as well. At that point it was just about me bringing Hawkins to justice and giving her what she deserved, now that I knew Jake was home. I didn't call my sister because I didn't want to risk anyone associated with Hawkins to endanger her or whatever. I didn't tell anyone from my old life.

"I got her address in Sacramento, and I bought a plane ticket. Took all the evidence I had on her. Evidence that showed she was the leader of the Golden Gang, who was responsible for a series of bank robberies. Evidence that she took bribes from drug kingpins, other dirty cops, even politicians. I managed to get information on the overseas bank account and tied it to other bank transactions from other crimes she committed, not just the one she framed us for. I also drove down to Langdon's farm, and I held his horse at gunpoint--he finally told me Hawkins was blackmailing him. Said she knew he committed massive insurance fraud and that he could lose the farm and go to prison _again_ if she exposed him.

"Hawkins' neighbourhood was a quiet one, the farthest suburb from the Sacramento business district. Since there were a lot of vacant lots and empty houses, they didn't see the need for street cams. Lucky for me. I had no plans on hurting her--I only wanted to tell her to turn herself in so Jake and I could get exonerated. No criminal record, maybe receive damages--Jake and I could have a chance to go back to the force. We talked for a while, but things went sideways. She had me up against a wall, her arm to my neck. She had a knife--I was pretty sure she was about to kill me. I pushed her hand away, little by little, and the blade of the knife slit her throat. I didn't plan for that to happen--but she got what she deserved.

"I knew I couldn't leave with the evidence against her, so I left it on the counter. I couldn't come forward, but the world needed to know of the crimes she committed. If I couldn't get exonerated, at least Jake would."

"But you could! It was self-defense, you didn't do anything wrong--"

"I can't, Jake. I can't be put on trial again. I can't go to prison again. Just...live your life so I can live mine--in a non-extradition country under a new name. I know I can't be a cop again, but... that's okay. There are worse things that could happen."

"Rosa--"

"I'm really happy for the both of you. You two bring out the best in each other." 

She stands up, preparing to leave.

"Now, if the cops handling Hawkins' death aren't complete dum-dums and actually take those documents that I left into evidence, they should be arresting her accomplices, the kingpins who paid her off, all those people." She turns to Jake. "And your criminal record should be gone soon."

She heads for the door, but not without taking one last look at the both of them. She smiles.

"I love you guys."

The door closes shut. "Amy, we have to talk her out of this--"

"Jake--"

He lunges for the door and flings it open. He looks at both ends of the hallway.

Rosa Diaz disappears.

\---------- **EPILOGUE** \----------

She was right.

Jake Peralta got exonerated a month after their wedding, just as Rosa Diaz had predicted. Melanie Hawkins' lackeys and accomplices and the other corrupt police officers she often colluded with were arrested. The government officials who bribed her were under federal investigation. 

Jake was awarded $500,000 for the five years he spent behind bars, plus an additional $300,000 for the fact that he was a commendable detective who served the community and brought justice before he was falsely convicted and experienced injustice himself. He was allowed back into the force.

With the money, they were able to have their honeymoon--they didn't have to spend a lot of time thinking as they both immediately agreed on going to Europe. They went to the cities where Jason Bourne had driven a car down some stairs, but they stayed in Paris the longest.

They were also able to move out of Amy's old apartment and into a newer, bigger one. One where they had enough room for three people.

Jake and Amy had their first child.

They wanted to name their daughter after Rosa, but decided she wouldn't want anything named after her, much less a person. Rosa hated anything that had to do with emotions and being sentimental.

They settled on Emily Goldfinch Peralta instead, after one of her aliases.

Emily grew up to be a bright, bouncing, and pretty little girl. Jake secretly felt relieved that she inherited most of Amy's features--he wouldn't know what to do with himself if their child ended up looking mostly like him.

Life went on. Emily was about to turn six years old. She grew up being friends with Gina's, Terry's, and Charles' children, although she was the youngest out of all of them. They all lived normal, happy lives. The risks and danger of having cops and precinct employees as parents were non-existent to them. 

Unbeknownst to them, however, their parents all longed for the one friend they wished could be there with them.

Seven years, and Rosa never contacted any of them.

They decided to throw Emily's birthday party at a meadow in Central Park. Uncle Charles baked her birthday cake. Grandpa Ray brought his old fat corgi Cheddar, and Emily let him lick her face. 

Even though she inherited most of her mother's physical features, she inherited her father's natural curiosity. Birthday parties were fun and all--but Emily wanted to explore.

She plays with a small soccer ball by herself--her parents' friends' children were now too big to play with her. They didn't tell her that--she just decided, and she understood.

"Emily, please don't go too far," Amy calls out to her.

"I won't, Mom," she says.

She proceeds to play with the soccer ball in a part of the meadow she hasn't played in before, near the pathways. Maybe she could kick the ball higher if the ground was more level.

She kicks the ball, and it rolls away. She chases after it before it stops near a pair of feet in dark leather boots.

"Is this your ball, little girl?" the lady standing before her asks, and picks up the ball to give to her.

"Yes, thank you." Emily looks up.

She gets the feeling that she has seen this woman before. Maybe not in person--in photos, maybe? Sometimes, when her parents were asleep, she sneaks into the study and looks through old photo albums and case files. This woman might have come up a few times.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Emily asks.

"You shouldn't talk to strangers."

"Emily." Just then, her parents jog towards her. "It's time to blow out the candles on your birthday cake, sweetie."

"Okay, Dad. This lady was just handing me back my ball."

"Well, thank you--" Jake was about to say, when he recognised the woman standing in front of them.

They didn't think they'd ever see her again.

"Rosa?" Amy asks, incredulous.

For all the years they have known her, she was never a big smiler. But somehow, her lips spread into a grin.

This time, she doesn't disappear.

 

**THE END**


End file.
